House Majority Whip visits Michigan
In a community conversation at his alma mater Albion College, Congressman Mark Schauer introduced House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn who discussed with a select audience the importance of public service and reflected on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Congressman Clyburn, who knew and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. brought to life quotations from Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” with his own reflections from that era and his time in Congress. Among them was the need sometimes to take direct action instead of waiting for the legal process to resolve injustice.
In reflecting upon his own jailing for participation in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Rep. Clyburn acknowledged that his life was forever altered by taking the actions which landed him there, and which also led to meeting his wife, with whom he has shared the last 48 years. He also used the point to indicate to the students assembled that very often, as was the case with him, volunteerism had opened up career paths for him that gainful employment would not grant him.
He also said that time is neutral; it is neither right nor wrong. But it can be of use by those who would do good as well as those who work against the good. And, unfortunately, those who are of bad will seem to use time more effectively than those who of good will.
That makes all the difference when we are considering enacting important policies. In Clyburn’s opinion, the policies the President has asked Congress to act on in his first term are the most important he’s seen in his 17 years in the House of Representatives. Health care, jobs, and a comprehensive energy policy need to be the top agenda items for the administration and Congress, not because of what they will mean “tomorrow morning, but in 15 years.”
The last question was asked by a student who inquired about the role of U.S. education policy in bringing students in tune with the availability and type of jobs that would be needed to bring about an economic recovery in that time frame. This was a very insightful question, given the location and context. Clyburn had spent the morning with Rep. Gary Peters, who was instrumental recently in bringing federal assistance to Michigan for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and advanced battery technology. Likewise, Congressman Schauer has been working hard to return jobs to this region through stimulus funding. Clyburn acknowledged the significant role that post-secondary education of all types must play in preparing the next generation of a skilled workforce to sustain the transformational change that is needed.
In summing up, Schauer invoked King ‘s quotation “On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right?” as a final reflection on the evening. If not for tomorrow, but for the generations to come, it is time to act, and it is time to do what’s right.
